American Robin: how to recognise it
A bird of Europe, Asia and North America. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © John D Reynolds · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Turdus migratorius
- Family
- Thrushes
- Size
- About 23–28 cm
- Habitat
- Lawns, parks, gardens and woodland edges
- Found in
- Europe, Asia and North America
The key marks
Grey-brown above with a brick-orange breast, white arcs around the eye and a yellow bill. Larger and plainer-backed than the European Robin.
Voice
A rolling, whistled song often rendered “cheerily, cheer-up”, heard at dawn.
Good to know
Despite its name it is a thrush, and it is often seen tugging earthworms from lawns after rain.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in lawns, parks, gardens and woodland edges. It is especially common in the United States, Canada and Texas. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.